Disclaimer: All I own here are Mary, Allen, William, Amelia, Bryan, Brad, Stacey and Matt. The rest, definitely not mine.

THANK YOU for all the super-awesome reviews! I'm sorry, again, that this is late, and that Shooting Stars is late, too, but you know about my laptop. It's still not fixed...yet. =S *sigh*

Anyways, this chapter is as fluff- I think- as I could do and is dedicated to both Summernsrping and LiLAnnie123; the first for wanting a fluff without any major drama -I hope you like it- and the second for encouraging me to write on FF in the first place, I don't think I really had the chance to thank her.

Sorry- a very long A/N but here's the story =) Hope you enjoy...


Chapter Nine

Allen was just being the annoying little brother he is. I still wonder sometimes how come I care for him that much but, whatever. He's my brother anyways so it must be some kind of a package deal. I chuckled at the thought.

"Hey, sweetie," Mom greeted me from the kitchen, apparently making something for dinner. I threw my white bag on the floor and went to her, praying that my now-wavy hair wouldn't expose me; it's always straight when I blow-dry it like I did this morning. Thankfully, she was too engrossed in cooking to realize that.

"Hi, Mom," I greeted her back, not really affected by the smell of the mac and cheese she was making; I had eaten at Emily's. I was just so tired that I thought I could sleep right there on the kitchen table.

"Had fun?" she asked," It was raining down here so I bet it wasn't that fun on the beach, eh?" she asked and I smiled mischievously; I had found a way to explain my hair.

"Yeah," I answered, stretching the word unnecessarily." It was so cold." That wasn't a lie. She nodded and came to sit beside me as she waited for the microwave to heat up so she could put the couple of sandwiches we had in the fridge there.

She rested her head on her hand, reminding me slightly of the way Embry did the day I met him while we were in Starbucks.

"So, tell me," she started," Did you spend all day at the beach?" she asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Nope," I answered truthfully," We went to Sam and Emily's," I said," Who quite count as parental supervision," we both chuckled," And then we went to Embry's house so he could check on his Mom. Amber is so sweet," I added the last part just to deliver the message that his mother was actually there; I didn't need any more interrogations for the night. She nodded.

"Maybe I could meet her sometime," she suggested," How about you invite her over here next weekend?" she pushed. I knew this wasn't about extending our family's social network. This was just to meet my boyfriend's mother. Nothing else. I sighed, feeling my eyelids become heavier by the second.

"Sure, Mom," I said."Now I really wanna sleep, 'Kay?" I said. She pouted.

"What about the mac and cheese?" she said. I knew she wasn't that serious.

"I already ate at Emily's," I answered, getting up with a yawn. She nodded in understanding." Oh, by the way," I said. She frowned in my direction.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm going to school tomorrow at 11; I have this yearbook committee meeting," I announced and she nodded.

"Of course," she said," Just don't forget your keys because your father and I would be at work and your brother has an exam then he's going out with his friends so no one would be at home to open the door for you." I nodded and made a mental note to remember the keys.

I went up to my room and got out my pajamas from my wardrobe, heading reluctantly towards the bathroom to take a quick shower, rinse away the salt. I got out of the bathroom in my pajamas, still drying my hair with a towel; I would blow-dry it next morning so I didn't need to do that now. And just before I was going to sleep, the phone rang. I huffed and picked the phone which was, for some reason, in my room right now, and answered it.

"Hello?" I said, waiting for an answer.

"Mary!" Stacey exclaimed," Where were you?" she asked. I rolled my eyes as I sat on the bed.

"At First Beach with Em. Why?" I asked.

"I've been calling you on your cell phone for the last couple of hours and you wouldn't answer," she accused. I frowned.

"Really?" I said," I must've forgotten it at Emily's." When Embry phased and I put it on the table.

"Oh, okay, then," she said," I was just checking on you; Dad said you were in the hospital last night."

"Oh, yeah," I said," I'm really fine. You know how I am." I could actually feel her roll her eyes; I knew her too well.

"Stop being paranoid, girl," she instructed. Yes, instructed. Not that I minded; she was my best friend and she was saying that for my sake," He wouldn't have left you like that. End of story. May I remind you how much f a jerk that Max was to do that?" I grimaced, staying silent," So, you know?" she said," Embry isn't like him, Mary." I sighed.

"I know, I know," I said and she chuckled.

"This so much reminds me of when you used to think of Max," she said and I chuckled bitterly; I didn't like that time of my life, to no one's surprise.

"Yeah," I breathed." Look I gotta go sleep now, okay?" I said."Tell me all about the party tomorrow morning," I demanded. She giggled. Oh God.

"Okay, fine," she said." I'll tell you tomorrow," she added," Sleep tight." I yawned.

"You too." Was the last thing I said before I put the phone on the nightstand, set my alarm on 9:30am and switched off the lights, giving in to sleep.

-

If I ever study electronics, I should really invent an alarm clock that doesn't wake you up cursing. It was like I was peacefully asleep a minute, the other minute the whole house was on fire. BEEEEP! And I woke up. I really miss my cell phone with its cute, slow alarm ring tone.

I didn't realize I had this awfully terrible headache until I sat up on my bed. I groaned, slightly reminding myself to take a pain killer with my vitamins before I went to school. I got up and clicked on my computer's power button, leaving it to start up as I did my usual routine so I could save my work on my flash memory before I go out.

I took one quick shower and dried my hair, putting it up in a high pony tail for a change. I wore my regular pair of jeans, a brown sweatshirt and a cream jacket over it along with my brown flats and brown bag. This outfit was one of my favorites. I grabbed my flash memory from my other bag and saved the couple of drafts I had on my computer to show it to Mrs. Cox when I get there and turned off the computer to head to breakfast.

And, me being me, I took my vitamins, ate some yoghurt and totally forgot about the pain killer, leaving me with that headache to start my day with. Luckily, I remembered to take my keys before I left.

Today wasn't that cloudy, I didn't expect any rain so I walked, slowly, to school, taking my time and listening to my iPod. The iPod was one invention that changed humanity, I'm telling you.

I got to school in an hour, perfectly on my time, 11am, and ran my way to the room where we usually meet.

Mrs. Cox wasn't there yet, just me, Bryan Hamilton who was a genius photographer besides being an athlete and a couple of girls from the design team.

"Mary Anderson," Bryan acknowledged, I smiled politely.

"Bryan Hamilton." Well, you see, when I first got to this school, Bryan asked me out and I declined which sort of made me and Stacey closer as I told her my secret, if that made any sense.

He came and sat on the desk next to mine.

"You didn't come to the party on Saturday." It wasn't a question but his tone suggested that he wanted me to reply.

"Dad wouldn't let me," I answered truthfully." How was it anyways?" I asked, getting out the flash memory in my hands, hoping to distract myself from the banging in my head. I should really pass by the nurse's office and see if she's there and if she could get me some Tylenol or something. Though Tylenol might be too much for a headache...

"Smokin' hot," he answered," You should've came," he said. I shrugged.

"Maybe next time." And don't take that as a promise. He smiled.

"Sure," he said. That was when Mrs. Cox came.

The meeting went pretty well and lasted about two hours. They all voted on one of my drafts and I was supposed to add some final touches and supervise the girls' work, leaving me to deal with Bryan for the rest of the yearbook's designs so we would pick the most suitable photos to put, covering all the activities we did this year. It wasn't that big of a deal; work is work.

By the time I came out of the room, the nurse was gone, and it started raining. Oh great.

Raining in Washington isn't something unexpected, really. But it still catches me every time. I walked my way home in the rain, careful to place my iPod in my pocket so the water wouldn't ruin it; I wouldn't be able to buy another one anytime soon. I set the volume on high, avoiding the sound of the splashing rain, and walked until I was only a quarter of an hour away from home, that was when I felt a warm, strong hand on my shoulder, making me jump, startled as I didn't hear any footsteps or something. I removed the headphones from my ears and turned to see who it was, relieved it was just Embry, who looked... weird, rather worried, angry...etc.

"Hey," I broke the silence as I smiled at him. He sighed and smiled back, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

"Hey," he greeted back. I was about to ask him about what exactly he was doing here when he spoke again," Come here," he led me to his motorcycle and I sat in my usual spot as he hopped up behind me.

"So," I started," Wh-" He cut me off.

"You forgot your phone at Sam's yesterday," he said," And your mother told me you had a meeting at school," he added." Why didn't you tell me so I could pick you up?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe because you're not my own personal driver?" I suggested. He chuckled.

"I got worried about you," he said," I don't like you walking alone around here, especially when it's raining." I sighed but decided to drop it before he was in full father mode, I liked full boyfriend mode better.

I leaned back on his chest,"How was your day?" I asked.

"I just woke up not an hour ago," he said," So it went pretty well until I began doing maths problems in my head to know whether or not I should go to see you at school." I laughed. That was when we got home. My home, I mean. I hopped down, groaning slightly at the headache that was becoming more annoying by the second; I'm not the type of person who can live with constant pain. I just hoped he wouldn't notice that, but he did.

"Are you okay?" he asked, immediately, of course. I sighed.

"Just a headache. Nothing major," I reassured. He nodded.

"Uh- I'm gonna go now," he said but I could see he was reluctant. Besides, I didn't want him to go.

"Can't you come in with me?" I suggested," I'm all alone today." Well, until 3 or 4pm only.

"Won't your dad-" I cut him off.

"I'll deal with Dad later." I pouted, feeling like a six-year-old, frankly. He chuckled and kissed me, which was quite romantic in the rain but, unfortunately, it didn't last for long. We went inside and he gave me my cell phone that, apparently, he went to take from Sam's after Emily answered him on it and told him it was there. I excused myself to change into some dry clothes and told him to make himself at home, shutting up my conscious by sending Mom a text telling her he was with me. Not Dad, of course not. God forbid. He would come straight from work just to give us some 'company'.

I went downstairs to find him watching TV in the living room. NCIS to be exact. I remembered to go grab a pain killer from the kitchen and put some water to boil; I wanted to make some tea; it was cold and I coughed a little. I just prayed I didn't catch a cold from all the "swimming" yesterday. The water would take at least 3-4 minutes to boil so I went to sit with him.

I sat next to him on the couch and he opened his arms for me, pulling me closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and stayed silent as the show was still on. He decided to speak though.

"So how was your meeting?" he asked, playing with my pony tail. I shrugged.

"Normal," I answered," They voted for one of the drafts I made and I'm supposed to finish it before the next meeting." He was still playing with my hair. Doesn't it get boring after a while?

Apparently not," I love playing with your hair, you know," he suddenly commented after another moment of silence. I smiled.

"I noticed," I said and got up to make the tea." Do you drink tea?" I asked, frowning to myself as I realized I hadn't asked that question before I put the water to boil. He nodded.

"Are you making some?" he asked and it was my turn to nod. He smiled."Okay, then."

I went to the kitchen and put my favorite blue mug and another white one and poured the boiled water, inserting the tea bag after I did. I put my two spoons of sugar, mixed it then got out some milk from the fridge and added it to the tea. It tasted slightly better that way. Then, I removed the tea bag from his mug and put the sugar can and the milk bottle beside it. But, instead of waiting for me to get him the tea, he came to the kitchen himself.

"That smells good," he commented. I rolled my eyes.

"Can you even smell tea?" I asked. I knew I didn't. Or maybe I didn't pay enough attention. He shrugged and chuckled.

"Yeah, kinda," he said," Maybe it's because I can practically smell everything but this smells really good anyways," he grinned. I got closer to him and used that fade of pain that's happened right now and kissed him lightly.

"Well, I hope you like how it tastes," I said then just a millisecond later, I realized how wrong it sounded. I blushed."Uh- How much sugar do you take?" I asked, avoiding eye-contact as he looked slightly amused.

"Three tablespoons," he said," Maybe four," he added.

"Maybe it's easier to put it in the sugar can then back in the cup, don't you think?" I said, chuckling and recovering from the embarrassment earlier. He laughed.

"Maybe I'll try it once," he said," But, really, I like it too sweet." I nodded in understanding.

"Sure," I said as I put his sugar into the mug," Want some milk?" He shook his head and I handed him the mug as we headed back towards the living room. I sat next to him, again, on the couch and noticed he switched to a movie. I knew this one...I knew this one...

"The Notebook," he said when, apparently, he noticed my confused face. I smiled in recognition. I drank the whole mug, sip by sip during the first half of the movie while he just swallowed all of it like some water. Sometimes the wolves are just too weird.

I was getting more sleepy by the second, partly because of the tea, and also because of the pain killer. So, somehow, I ended up laying my head on his lap and he just kept stroking my cheek automatically, gently, leaning for a quick kiss every now and then.

I turned my head to look at his face when the movie ended and he focused more on me, okay so I doubted he ever focused on the movie but whatever. He frowned.

"What's-" He paused," You're not as cold as usual," he commented. It was my turn to frown.

"Huh?" 'As cold as usual'? Was I usually cold?

"You- Everything's cold to me but now you're not," he tried to explain. I realized what he meant a second late.

"Oh," I said and was going to put a hand on both our foreheads to compare but realized he was no comparison."I'm gonna get the thermometer," I said, getting up. He wouldn't allow me.

"Just tell me where it is," he demanded and I rolled my eyes but told him where it was anyways. He got it, full speed. Okay, so even if I do have a fever he shouldn't be reacting like this. It's just fever. And, when I put it under my tongue and waited for that always-long minute I realized it was fever after all. Combine that with the headache and the slight coughing I've been doing, I just caught a cold. He wanted to go get me some medicine but I just stopped him.

"It's just a cold, Em," I reasoned,"It happens." He sighed and hugged me as we sat on that same couch.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"What? Why?" Okay, so he's either sorry for me being sick or for worrying about me, both of them didn't require an apology anyways.

"For making you go to the beach yesterday," he said," You shouldn't have; it was cold, apparently." I sighed.

"First of all, you didn't make me do anything," I said, slightly irritated," And, secondly, you have to stop doing that," I added," Stop blaming yourself!" I practically yelled. He kissed my forehead.

"I'll try," he promised," So do you want to-" We were cut off by Allen's arrival.

"Is anybody home?" he asked as he shut the door behind him. I bit my lip as I expected awesome comments from him. Really, really awesome.

"I'm right here!" I answered back but decided not to yell any more because it made my throat a little sore. Embry was going to pull away from our embrace but I decided to tease my little brother. Besides, we weren't doing anything wrong.

He came into view," Mom's-" He was cut off by noticing my boyfriend, my imprint's appearance. His eyes widened." Not the couch!" he whined," People actually use that," he said and I blushed, burying my head into Embry's chest, who shot him a glare himself.

"Stop it, Al!" I groaned," We-" Embry cut me off.

"Sorry but the bed wasn't comfortable enough," he teased, obviously; we didn't even make-out. Not once.

Allen's face was disgusted but he managed to regain his composure and came inside to put his cell phone on the table- He always put it there. To my surprise, he sat on the chair opposite to us.

"Mom's going grocery shopping before she comes here," he announced, resting his head on the chair then noticed the thermometer on the table, I could see it.

"I'm gonna go now, 'Kay?" Embry whispered in my ear, kissing my cheek."Take care of yourself," he said," I'll check up on you in the morning." I nodded and kissed him chastely.

"I love you so much, Em, you know that?" I whispered, smiling. He smiled back.

"Yeah, I do," he said as he stood up but leaned to whisper in my ear," But I love you more." He said and was out before I could recover from my 'Aw' moment to speak up. I just threw my head on the arm of the couch and sighed. Allen rolled his eyes.

"Are you sick?" he asked and I didn't realize what he was talking about until he explained," The thermometer- Do you have a fever?" he asked and I could sense he was truly concerned. Good; after all it turned out that he actually loves me as much as I love him. Still part of the brother/sister package deal though. I nodded.

"Just a cold," I said and smiled at him," You care." It wasn't a question. He rolled his eyes again.

"Well, of course I do," he said," You are my sister after all." I chuckled." But, don't, and I repeat, don't get anywhere near my stuff. I don't want to catch that cold from you; I wanna go out tomorrow."

"Really?" I said," Where are you going?" I asked, using this truce. He smiled playfully.

"I have a date," he said, and I could sense he was genuinely happy.

"Who's she?" I asked, interested in whatever little kid that he's going to go out with. Yes, to me, 13-year-olds are kids. I'm 15, so- yeah.

He stood up," Too much brother/sister talk, dontcha think?" He walked out and I could see his cheeks turn pink.

I laughed; Aww.

So I wanted to put the names of all who bothered to review this story but I found they were just too many xD Sorry =)

I wanna know what you think! So,...REVIEW please... =) Thanks.

Please? lol